Bad feeling on Uber and Grab in Vietnam.

I've noticed the same thing. Also, the wait times are getting longer...or it will say 5 minutes then change to 15 minutes for no reason.
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Sorry to hear about that Chris.  I think its relatively easy to become a Grab driver, hence you will get the odd bag egg here and there.

Regarding the GPS issue and them looking on their phone, why don't they just put the destination in on their phone and plug headphones in and get directed? Surely that would make a lot more sense?

Yeah, he was trying to. But his phone/signal wasn't working and I was running out of time. He had pulled over and was lost. So I offered my phone to help

I was booked Grab car to go Airport, and then I need to pick up the friend of mine 200 meters away from my location, it was on the way to the airport and not turning to any other direction, But this guy was charged extra 30K for the pick up my friend. There is no way to charge any extra unless if we go away from the direction where we booked.
It's was ridiculed, and this guy was rude to me and giving a shit on me.

So, later on, I complain to the company wrote by email but no one reply yet. That is normal and  Grab has any policy to charge like that?

chrisknutson wrote:

I've noticed the same thing. Also, the wait times are getting longer...or it will say 5 minutes then change to 15 minutes for no reason.

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I am sorry to hear That too, but hopefully, you get a good lesson from that and won't do that again.

Collwing wrote:

I was booked Grab car to go Airport, and then I need to pick up the friend of mine 200 meters away from my location, it was on the way to the airport and not turning to any other direction, But this guy was charged extra 30K for the pick up my friend. There is no way to charge any extra unless if we go away from the direction where we booked.
It's was ridiculed, and this guy was rude to me and giving a shit on me.

So, later on, I complain to the company wrote by email but no one reply yet. That is normal and  Grab has any policy to charge like that?

Did you add it as an extra stop on the app when you booked it? If you did then it should give you the price with the stop. If you didn't then I suppose the driver can do as they please.

I wouldn't of fussed with sending the email to Grab, be gobsmacked if you get a response.

Collwing wrote:

I was booked Grab car to go Airport, and then I need to pick up the friend of mine 200 meters away from my location, it was on the way to the airport and not turning to any other direction, But this guy was charged extra 30K for the pick up my friend. There is no way to charge any extra unless if we go away from the direction where we booked.
It's was ridiculed, and this guy was rude to me and giving a shit on me.

So, later on, I complain to the company wrote by email but no one reply yet. That is normal and  Grab has any policy to charge like that?

Unfortunately, that's the rule for Grab VN.
Check this link. Multi-stop Rides - Grab VN.
Scroll down to the FAQ section and read the answer to the following question:

Q: "What should I do if the passenger didn't book an extra stop, but asks for an extra stop along the way?"
A: "You may make the extra stop. Any ad hoc requests for extra stops will be subjected to a surcharge of VND30,000 (within 5km; maximum of 3 additional stops)"

You should use this multi-stop option next time.
However, in the FAQ part (1st question), they mention this service is available only in Hanoi and in Da Nang.
Better ask them if you can do it in HCMC as well. No reason why you can't.

senwl wrote:

Collwing wrote:

I was booked Grab car to go Airport, and then I need to pick up the friend of mine 200 meters away from my location, it was on the way to the airport and not turning to any other direction, But this guy was charged extra 30K for the pick up my friend. There is no way to charge any extra unless if we go away from the direction where we booked.
It's was ridiculed, and this guy was rude to me and giving a shit on me.

So, later on, I complain to the company wrote by email but no one reply yet. That is normal and  Grab has any policy to charge like that?

Unfortunately, that's the rule for Grab VN.
Check this link. Multi-stop Rides - Grab VN.
Scroll down to the FAQ section and read the answer to the following question:

Q: "What should I do if the passenger didn't book an extra stop, but asks for an extra stop along the way?"
A: "You may make the extra stop. Any ad hoc requests for extra stops will be subjected to a surcharge of VND30,000 (within 5km; maximum of 3 additional stops)"

You should use this multi-stop option next time.
However, in the FAQ part (1st question), they mention this service is available only in Hanoi and in Da Nang.
Better ask them if you can do it in HCMC as well. No reason why you can't.

So it means they have to charge more fees with every single stop for the traffic light. LOL. I agree with this extra Charge if I go away or the driver has to wait for even one minute, but he didn't.

Another hand he used Ipad to search music and focuses on it more than his driving few more times I had to remind him to go because he did not notice the green light.

fedwards wrote:

I've been riding Grab Bikes for a year now and most of my misadventures have been comical ones -- although if I'm in a hurry the laughs might not happen right away.

Here are some of my tips/thoughts:

1. I use Grab Pay (i.e. Visa) instead of cash so I get a receipt for each trip and don't have to deal with cash. I've never had an unexpected fee increase on the bikes and there never seem to be peak fare periods.



11. Occasionally I use an off duty Grab driver I met last year who has pretty good English and knows Saigon well because he's a native. I call him when I need him -- pay him 50,000 an hour cash with a two hour minimum when I need to run all over town and don't want to put up with the aggravation of multiple pickups.

Do you use the Grab credits or actual card payment that is done automatically? If so, have you ever had a case where they say they've picked you up and then charge your card anyway? That's the only reason I'm still doing cash.

RE point 11, how did you go about doing that? That's what I want to do, but have no idea to go about doing it because of the language barrier, want a bike to take me to work and drop me off, ideally same one every day...

here's also my experience with riding Grab, Uber, Vinasun, & Mai Linh taxis over the past year:

1.  Most reliable and plentiful are the Vinasun and Mai Linh taxis but fares are about 20-30% higher

2.  Grab - Car and Bike are more plentiful and generally cheaper.  Wait time depends on time of day and driver availability

3.  Uber - Moto and X are the cheapest but also less available drivers and less experienced drivers

My experiences in more details:

First time in country, I took a Vinasun taxi.  I paid the driver and he ripped me off by giving me much less change than expected (my fault for not knowing the currency)

Got smarter after that and installed Grab and Uber apps and started using their promotion.  Also added credit card so I don't have to deal with cash, much like Wechat or Didi in China, very convenient and you don't have to worry about them ripping you off since price is set & all you have to do is confirm

some Grab and Uber motor bike trips were 5-10k using promos which they send practically every week.  Highest cost were cross town trips or late night, early morning, and peak rush hour but fares were no more than 40-50k

GrabCar and UberX were between 25k for short trips to 130k for an hour ride from D7 to the airport.  You can save quite a bit using promo codes.  Most of the time, Uber rates are 30-40% cheaper than Grab for some reason.

As far as wait time, allow 5-10 min for pickup. Only 1/10 times were 15+ min because the driver was inexperienced.  Also due to inexperience, drivers take long routes or don't know addresses about 20-25% of the time, more Uber drivers are guilty of this than Grab drivers

I only had to cancel or driver had to cancel a handful of times, maybe <5% b/c took too long. For 15k, about $0.70, I wouldn't complain too much.  Relatively speaking, taxi fares in US or Europe can run $40-100 so no matter how you look at it, VN is a bargain

After living here for a year, the rate for getting lost is almost nonexistent since I know my routes well and even give instructions to inexperienced drivers.  For unfamiliar places, I do my research on google map first

About the many posts that complain about Grab & Uber previously, I think the problem lies with the Vietnamese address system which makes no sense whatsoever.  Only after you have lived here awhile, then you start to understand the quirkiness of the system.  Same with drivers.  Those that have been here 6 mos to 1+ year are more experienced.  You run into trouble with the newcomers who sign up to drive who don't know the city that well.

So, my recommendations are:

if you are first time here or just visiting <2 weeks as tourists, use VinaSun or Mai Linh taxis.

If you are planning to stay longer and want to save some money, use Uber and Grab along with their promo codes.  Expect a few problems once in awhile because some drivers are new.  Also add a credit card if you want peace of mind of not dealing with cash.

I tip the drivers about 10-20k if they do a good job.  Motobike is the way to go if you want to get to your destination fast and don't mind weaving in and out of traffic

And one more thing.  Bike drivers request that you don't shift in your seat too often because that can throw them off balance.  If you give another passenger a ride in the back, you know what they mean

Just to chuck in a bit more, I've hit platinum member status now and the pick up times etc are a lot faster, so if you're struggling to begin with, with them, just stick it out. It gets better.

WillyBaldy wrote:

I don't get it though, when Uber charges higher rates, called Surge, there is a big disclaimer *before* you order and you need to confirm you accept the modifier. When Uber is charging too much at peak hours, why just *not* use them and call a taxi instead? I don't understand why people call Surge a ripoff, it's your choice to use or not, there is no surprise... not that I'm trying to defend Uber.

Exactly, I have been using them for the past year, check the price. feel ok use. If high price, use taxi. Usually prefer them because we still can track them if we need to complaint or forget things in the car.

About the cancellation charges, it's black and white on term and condition, shouldn't argue with that, if you are in rush, better go for taxi.

Now have another colleague whose phone was stolen . Why are these "unfounded accusations"? The *** definitely are stealing phones.

Caveat emptor:
Vietnamese motorbike taxis disguising themselves as Grab, Uber drivers to con clients
We do fall into such traps.
Exactly what @Diazo wrote on this thread (post #31).
Stay alert!

A friend of mine booked Uber Car a week ago,  after 15 minutes the car has arrived. But not the same number displayed on the app with the driver. Later on, my friend talks to the driver and asked why is the difference, and he said Uber doesn't care about the precisely the car with the same number, everybody can go to the company and register with any name with any car number, and even they don't check the car. 
So If he said true then be aware from Uber, also there are numbers of high percentage to get more trouble.

I dislike app based taxis because everyone I've looked at ask for permissions to access pretty much everything on your phone, something they won't be getting from me.

That said, we can't post unfounded accusations on the forum as the forum gets legal threats from various companies about such possible defamation.
Posts with defamatory content have to be removed.

I've read a couple of these articles but to me it just sounds silly, if you don't want to get ripped off, just used your app the way it's supposed to be used. Turn on your phone and use the app and you will pay the price your app shows. If you start believing whatever a xe om will tell you and don't use your app, then anything can happen.

Collwing wrote:

I was booked Grab car to go Airport, and then I need to pick up the friend of mine 200 meters away from my location, it was on the way to the airport and not turning to any other direction, But this guy was charged extra 30K for the pick up my friend. There is no way to charge any additional unless if we go away from the direction where we booked.
It's was ridiculed, and this guy was rude to me and giving a shit on me.

So, later on, I complain to the company wrote by email but no one reply yet. That is normal and  Grab has any policy to charge like that?

Finally, i have received few email from the Grab, and they were apologies in this case, and they understood the driver has no way to charge the extra 30K in this case. So the company offered me 30k off for next five trips. I am happy with the way they deal with this problem.

Collwing wrote:

Collwing wrote:

I was booked Grab car to go Airport, and then I need to pick up the friend of mine 200 meters away from my location, it was on the way to the airport and not turning to any other direction, But this guy was charged extra 30K for the pick up my friend. There is no way to charge any additional unless if we go away from the direction where we booked.
It's was ridiculed, and this guy was rude to me and giving a shit on me.

So, later on, I complain to the company wrote by email but no one reply yet. That is normal and  Grab has any policy to charge like that?

Finally, i have received few email from the Grab, and they were apologies in this case, and they understood the driver has no way to charge the extra 30K in this case. So the company offered me 30k off for next five trips. I am happy with the way they deal with this problem.

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but that's something they're offering everyone, not just you...